Lynn Goldsmith’s Rock And Roll is, uh, impressive. The woman appears to have photographed everybody — the rugged democracy of showbiz prevails, from Patti Smith to Carlos Santana. In one of the book’s more startling juxtapositions, Grand Funk Railroad’s Mark Farner is featured opposite whinge-rock superstar James Taylor, the former shirtless and rural-primal astride a stallion, the latter bicycling along under a silly white helmet with an expression of spiritual abdication on his face. Which one is ridiculous? Both. Neither. Everyone in this book, and the rest of rock-and-roll, too. Goldsmith is not above the occasional silly location: Bruce Springsteen, for example, (because he sings about cars?) is photographed in a salvage yard, grimacing out of a hanging garden of hubcaps. But she seems to allow her subjects the dignity of their own moods: Wendy O. Williams of the Plasmatics, with her characteristic shotgun and taped-off nipple, peers from behind these props with oracular knowingness. Prince licks his guitar, Lou Reed gives a cheeky-monkey grin, Television look briefly non-neurotic. Sid Vicious, shot with a hard flash, displays the full redness of his acne and bottle-wounds. There’s a couple too many pictures of Hall and Oates for me, but hey, I’m a child of the ’60s. Or the ’70s. Whatever.

Television personality Though he often sounds like Lou Reed on Quaaludes, his guitar never fails to ring through loud and clear.

Excerpt: Patti Smith's Just Kids The stars were lining up to enter the Ziegfeld Theatre for the glittering premiere of the film Ladies & Gentlemen, the Rolling Stones. I was excited to be there.

The ultimate balancing act About 100 films deep, MIFF ’08 has intriguing offerings for cineastes of all stripes. Here’s a slice of what to look out for.

Swede heart Few contemporary singers achieve as perfect a confluence of sound and image as Sarah Assbring. It's deeply reassuring to hear mournful, stylized '60s pop coming out of a melancholic beanpole who resembles a recently bereaved Edie Sedgwick.

Hope against Hollywood Mr. Keough’s “Is There Any ‘Hope’ in Hollywood” article makes my own point. Precious , The Blind Side , and The Princess and the Frog were strategically released to detract from the positive image of President Barack Obama.

GETTING TO KNOW PHILIP LARKIN WITH A NEW EDITION OF HIS POEMS | April 26, 2012 "A smash of glass and a rumble of boots/Electric trains and a ripped-up phonebooth/Paint-spattered walls and the cry of a tomcat/Lights going out, and a kick in the balls." These lines are not by Philip Larkin, of course — they're by Paul Weller.

BLACK SABBATH ARE BACK — IN PRINT AND ON FILM | November 14, 2011 The literature on Black Sabbath — already extensive — will continue to grow, as we try, try, try again to wrap our poor noggins around the irreducibly cosmic fact of this band.